Yanks catch break, beat Angels, 6-5

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Yankees, who struggled for much of the last week, were in need of a break and received one late Sunday afternoon.

It came in the form of a dropped fly ball by Angels centerfielder Peter Bourjos, with the miscue leading to two game-changing runs in the Yankees' 6-5 victory in front of 42,581 at Angel Stadium.

"That was a break we needed,'' said Mark Teixeira, who hit the ball Bourjos lost for a moment in the sun, leading to the runs that turned a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 lead. "I'm really proud of our guys. We've been through a tough stretch, as everybody knows.''

The Yankees snapped a four-game losing streak and -- finally -- took advantage of a Boston loss. The Yankees lead the Red Sox, who were swept by the Rays, by 3½ games.

"We got a little luck today, but that's a part of the game,'' said Mariano Rivera, who recorded his 40th save with a scoreless ninth.

Rivera is two saves away from tying Trevor Hoffman's record of 601. Rivera induced a double-play grounder off the bat off Howie Kendrick to end it. Rivera pitched that inning to Austin Romine, who started much of the season for Double-A Trenton and took over for Jesus Montero in the seventh. Montero made his Yankees debut behind the plate.

"It's a great number,'' Rivera said of 601. "But I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.''

Rivera was part of an outstanding effort by the bullpen, which picked up Freddy Garcia, who wasn't good, except in the fifth inning. Garcia, who allowed five runs and seven hits in five innings, escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the fifth that kept the Yankees' deficit at 5-4.

"That's Freddy,'' Rivera said. "He's capable of doing that.''

Cory Wade, Rafael Soriano and David Robertson each pitched a scoreless inning to set up Rivera.

The Angels put runners on the corners with one out against Soriano in the seventh but the righthander got out of it, striking out Torii Hunter and getting Mark Trumbo to ground to first. After Teixeira stepped on the base, Soriano gave an emphatic clap, not the first display of emotion from a Yankee in a game that didn't feel like a must-win, but close.

"We've been through a lot lately, and for us to scratch this one out . . . We could kind of smell it,'' Teixeira said. "It was one of those things, once we got that lead, we weren't going to give it back.''

The Yankees, limited to three hits Friday and four Saturday, didn't exactly break out but did enough against Ervin Santana, who entered 11-10 with a 3.18 ERA. Santana allowed six runs (five earned) and eight hits in six innings.

The Yankees got home runs from Robinson Cano (his 25th) and Curtis Granderson (No. 39). Granderson's two-run shot in the fifth brought the Yankees within 5-4.

Brett Gardner led off the crucial seventh with a single and went to third on Derek Jeter's second single. Mike Scioscia brought in lefthander Scott Downs to face Granderson. He struck out, which brought up Teixeira, who had struck out three times. Teixeira skied Downs' 1-and-1 pitch to deep center, where Bourjos, who hit a two-run homer in the fourth, drifted to the track . . . and dropped the ball. Gardner and Jeter scored to make it 6-5.

Joe Girardi said he was watching Jeter, who he assumed would have to tag up at third, and didn't see the ball dropped. "Then I heard Tony [Peña] yell, 'He dropped it, he dropped it!' '' Girardi said of his bench coach.

"Outstanding. We caught a break. We've had some tough losses. To get this one today was important.''